POLICE believe the Scottish independence campaign were victims of a cyber attack by a hacker operating from outside the UK, the Daily Record can reveal.

They launched an inquiry after a complaint from Yes Scotland that private emails from a computer at their HQ were illegally accessed.

A source close to the investigation revealed the hacker operated from a foreign IP address.

Officers from the digital forensic unit spent a second day at the organisation’s office in Hope Street, Glasgow, yesterday interviewing staff and examining computer systems. They are expected to return again today.

The findings leave Yes Scotland chiefs facing the possibility confidential information about donors, their funding arrangements and strategy could all have been illegally accessed.

Police inquiries are focusing on one particular email account that appears to have been systematically breached.

A source said: “We don’t know how long it has been going on for or how often. But it appears to have been a widescale, systematic attack.

“We do not know how much has been taken, nor know who they were or what their motive may be.”

The revelations raise concerns about the way the increasingly bitter independence debate is being conducted.

Meanwhile, the nature of the media inquiry that alerted Yes Scotland that their computer systems may have been breached has been revealed.

A national newspaper based in Scotland learned the organisation had secretly paid a supposedly neutral expert to write a pro-independence newspaper article.

But when Elliot Bulmer’s article appeared in The Herald last month, his opinions were presented as coming from a representative of the politically neutral Scottish Constitutional Commission.

The revelations are embarrassing for Yes Scotland chief executive Blair Jenkins, who called for more honesty in the independence debate.

Elliot Bulmer

When Yes Scotland chiefs were questioned about the story last week, they confirmed it was true.

Last night a spokesman for Yes Scotland confirmed the inquiry had been sparked by questions about Mr Bulmer’s July 13 article.

He said: “This matter was first brought to our attention last Wednesday when we were asked for comment on Dr Bulmer.

“However, later that day it became apparent that an email account at Yes Scotland had been accessed illegally and that the information relating to this matter had been gleaned. We alerted the police and British Telecom.

“In the course of a wide-ranging discussion with Dr Bulmer it was suggested that he, as an academic working in a private capacity, might consider writing an article on matters about constitutional frameworks.

“At his request, he was paid a nominal fee. We had no input to, or any influence over, what he wrote.”

Better Together campaign chief Blair McDougall said: “If the allegations against Yes Scotland are true they fatally undermine trust in the campaign. How can we believe what they say if they are secretly paying-off supposedly impartial experts?”

A Police Scotland spokesman said: “We can confirm a complaint has been made by Yes Scotland regarding unauthorised access to an email account.”